1st Sgt. William Curtis

of the 9th Massachusetts Volunteer
Infantry

Writes Home

Contributed by Mike Schofield

General:

The following is a series of letters written by and to First Sergeant
William Curtis of the 9th Massachusetts Volunteer
Infantry, Co. A. The first
letter was written b Curtis in camp in Massachusetts before being mustered
in. The second was written by Curtis from Camp Alger, near Washington DC.,
The third was written by Curtis from Santiago, Cuba. The last was written
to Curtis from Boston, Massachusetts.

The following items may be useful when reading the letters. Maggie
is the wife of Sgt. Curtis. Maggis' "condition" referred to in Lwetter
3 is that she was pregnant with the couple's second child.

The last letter was written by T. McLaughlin, the wife of Eugene
B. McLaughlin, a private in Co. A. The letter was to thank Sgt. Curtis
for writing to her about her husband who had died while the regiment was
in Santiago.

Following the war, William Curtis went back to work at the post office,
where he remained until at least 1920. By 1920, he and maggie had ten children.

Did you see Mike at the Post Office? What did he want? One of the
carriers met me at the depot and said Mike wanted to see you. So if you
have not gone to him yet go as soon as you can. Did you receive any reply
from Mrs. L yet?

The examination by the regular army doctors is very severe, and thorough.
All the way from 10 to 25 men are rejected from each company and the officers
catch it too. The 2nd regiment has lost 5 officers and they have not finished
examining the men yet. The 9th has lost 3 officers so far among them is
Capt Crotty of Co. D. We will not be examined until tomorrow or later.
I am afraid my teeth will throw me, so don’t be surprized if you
see me home in a few days. There is a big kick brewing from this exam because
a number of the rejected have left good positions, and how the deuce will
I feel crawling back to the P.O. after the send off I got Wednesday?

I was commander of an outpost guard last night, it was awfully cold
but we have been supplied with heavy army blankets and I have the one you
sent me so I am well fixed. The field down here is remarkably dry after
the wet weather and my cough is getting better instead of worse as I thought
it would. We have no music with us at all except our buglers and there
is no booze in the camp at all. Some of these old soaks who came with us
looking for a good time are sadly disappointed.

In front of every company each morning there is a big load of wood
dumped and about 8 o’clock they are ignited (don’t stumble over that word)
and it is a pretty sight to see 24 bonfires about 10 feet high all going
at once. Tonight we will have 36 as the 8th
Reg. reached here this PM. We are not yet on army rations, not until
we pass the surgeons, they are feeding us pretty well but not so well as
at an ordinary camp. The sharp (unreadable) a great appetizer. This morning
for breakfast I ate 5 fried eggs, a big piece of steak, 4 boiled potatoes,
2 rolls and 3 cups of coffee (how would you like to pay my board at this
rate).

This is a very free and easy camp. Joe Delaney went up to Col Logan
yesterday and asked him if he would mind a ring for him as he was afraid
he would lose it. Logan said “sure me boy” and Joe pulled a big cow bell
out from under his coat and rung it, saying “well here it is take good
care of it”. Logan was mad enough to eat hay but he had to laugh at the
joke.

Now Maggie, don’t forget what you promised me about not worrying
as we are not in the least danger. As soon as there is I will let you know.
Don’t forget what I told you about yourself, the children and the house.

One of our recruits just fell off a big bonfire that he was building
and broke his leg, it was his own fault.

The camp is called “Camp Dewey” and in the morning it is damned dewy
but I have my heavy rubbers.

Well I must say good night. It has just started to rain, but I don’t
think it will last. Write at once to your loving hub.

WillHave you received my postal card?

Letter 2:

2PM June 8th 1898

Dear Maggie,

I received both of your welcome letters, the first came the
day I wrote to you and the other this morning. I was glad to hear from
you and I wish you would write every day as it takes 3 days for a letter
to reach me. This camp is nearly 500 miles from Charlestown and the mail
only gets here at long intervals and leaves the same way, so don’t be worried
if you don’t hear from me every day as there may be a letter on the way
while you are worrying. I am glad to hear such cheering news from home
as I am pretty homesick and would give a great deal to see you and the
children, but I guess it won’t be long before I will according to the papers.
Take good care of yourself dear and the children too and don’t worry about
me as I never felt so good in all my life, I have had no need to use either
the castor oil or the blackberry cordial yet and I am getting as fat as
lard.

This is a very healthy place and we have 3 fine doctors and 4 ass’t
doctors. There is not a single case of sickness in the hospital, but I
wish I could get a long cold drink of Charlestown water. The water we get
here is fine and pure, but we have to carry it so far that it is warm when
we get it and you know I drink a lot of water. We have a new addition to
our rations, fresh beef, we swap bacon for it in Washington. I saw that
piece in the Post, I am getting to be a famous citizen aint I?

Our tent is the best arranged in the company. Here is an outline
of it.

The bed is made of branches of pine trees filled in with pine boughs
and it is very sweet and soft. The clothes and gun racks are small cedar
trees stripped of their leaves. The desk is a large bacon box with legs
put under it. The chairs are made of pine boughs. Altogether it looks very
pretty. The bed is over 2 feet from the ground.

I am having a good time here as I am excused from half the drills
and have lots of writing to do. I am almost black from the sun. Serg’t
Frost and I were in Washington Monday and had a fine time. I saw the Capitol
and Congress in session, and shook hands with the President.
The city is very pretty and we stayed there all night and the next day,
and saw all the sights. I was up to the top of Washington Monument, which
is over twice as high as Bunker Hill Monument. It takes a half an hour
to go the round trip in the elevator. We have not been paid off yet but
the paymaster is here and we will be paid off before the week is out. Our
company and all the regiment is to be increased to 100 men, and we are
to be sent to Fort Meyer Washington. I may not be home for the 17th as
I said I would but I’ll be there on the 4th or I am greatly mistaken, the
war can’t possibly last much longer. The Spaniards are eating rats and
mules in Havana now so they must soon surrender or starve to death. I am
quite busy and have an awful lot of writing to do but I like it, but it
don’t leave me much time to myself to write home. I have just finished
a two days job writing for the regimental adjutant, there is more red tape
in thee army than anywhere else. I wrote to Frank to New Hampshire and
he will read it to you and Ma, I would not have time to write another like
it. It took 30 pages. I got a letter and 35 stamps from Frank from NH.
I never received the camp picture but we will probably have one taken down
here and I will send you one.

P.S. You did not say whether Bert was better or notLetter 3:

Santiago de CubaAug 1st, 1898

Dear Maggie,

I suppose you will be surprised to receive a letter from me
written in ink and on decent paper after the collections of “freak letters”
I have sent home from Cuba. The change is because we are in possession
of the city now and can send men in there occasionally. Yesterday I received
4 letters and 9 postal cards from you the latest was a letter July 13 saying
you and Mrs. O’Donovan went looking for state aid. I also got about 6 papers
with notes from Frank. I hope you succeeded in getting some money as it
has worried me like the deuce wondering how you are getting along without
money. We have not seen the paymaster since I sent you that check for $20.00.
I have no fear that you are not getting enough to eat but I suppose the
landlord is dogging you for the rent. Tell him what I write, or better
still show him this letter. If the rent runs up to 4 months, he will be
paid as the money is due me and there is no surer paymaster than Uncle
Sam. When I do get a chance to send some I will send a good pile. There
is no need of you writing every night now as you see all your letters will
reach me in a bunch whenever the steamer gets here and that is very uncertain.
Write a good long letter about every 5 days and tell Ma, Addie and Frank
to do the same thing only on different days by this way I can get all the
news and it won’t be so much trouble to you. I have written about 20 letters
home since I have left Camp Alger, one of them I wrote on the train and
posted at Newport News, VA, and about 5 on the “Harvard”.
I have not got a reply to any of them yet. I suppose they have been held
in quarantine and been delayed in delivery. I hope you have received them
all. I suppose you know how the war is going on better than I do. All the
news we get hee is two weeks old. I know Spain is suing for peace and that
they are only waiting for transports to ship
us home. After the surrender of Santiago
all the prisoners were driven into a valley between the American lines
and we were detailed to guard them. While doing this duty a terrible sickness
(fever) broke out in the regiment and in 2 days over 300 of the regiment
were in the hospital. I was taken down 10 days ago and only came out yesterday.
I thought I was going to die. I cannot describe the awul feeling it was.
Everyone got it alike the first sensations was chills and fever and awful
pains all over the body, then a terrific pain in the head, and then I dropped
and was half delirious for 7 days. They gave us good care at the hospital
and out of over 400 cases there were only 5 deaths in the regiment among
them was Major Grady who died July 30. The sickness lasted all the way
from 4 days to 2 weeks. Corp O’Donovan got it very light having been sick
only 4 days. The fever is not yellow fever but a mountain fever brought
on, so the doctors say by hardship, exposure and insufficient food. It
has left me very weak, but I am glad to have had it and be over with it
as now we are free from any danger of yellow fever. There are only about
30 men in the hospital now and the regiment is going back to the U.S. as
soon as it is ready to move. They are going to make us burn up every stitch
of clothing we have on and go aboard the ships naked so as not to bring
fever into the states. I don’t know how true this is, but if it is so I
will lose lots of souvenirs.

Now Maggie, I hope you are not worrying about me. Remember your condition
and remember that I am free from danger of bullets and fever, now that
I have had it. Give my love to all the folks tell them I’ll see them all
soon.

WillLetter 4:

60 Church St., BostonOct. 1898

Dear friend Mr. Curtis

It was quite an unexpected surprise to receive a letter from you,
and I was much pleased to hear you were getting strong so quickly.

It was very kind and thoughtful of you to write me and explain what
you did, but I have decided to wait until you return.

A few days ago I received the certificate of my dear Gen’s death,
through Mr. O’Neil, he having wrote for it to Washington, to the Assistant
Adjutant General, Thomas Ward.

About the bringing home of the bodies, seems to be sure enough, but
how soon no one seems to know, but it is a consolation to Know they are
certain to bring back all the bodies of our dead heroes.

Now Mr. Curtis, you may say you are reading a Cuban sheet of paper
and envelope of a package & some tobacco, which I sent to Gene about
the 1st of August by registry, but when it arrived in Santiago, my poor
Gene was beyond receiving, or ever writing a letter. It was sent back to
Framingham, and from that back to me again, you can imagine how I felt
then Mr. Curtis. So you are the first one so far, who received any of the
paper.

Bill Kelleher is home, and I need not tell you how changed he is,
very weak, but has not gone to the hospital as yet, he came almost naked
into Camp Wikoff, but first class passage
by boat and rail, so I suppose that helped to land him a little stronger
than the others.

I hope you will let me know when you arrive home, that is, if you
do not call at the house, and I trust you will be quite strong. I remain
your friend,

Flynn, Thomas A. - Roster of Company A from a "Soldier's Memorial"
broadside (Fuller Brothers: Albany, New York, 1898) that was owned by Musician
Orlando W. Flynn of Company A.

Support this Site
by Visiting the Website Store! (help us defray
costs!)
We are providing the following
service for our readers. If you are interested in books, videos, CD's etc.
related to the Spanish American War, simply type in "Spanish American War"
(or whatever you are interested in) as the keyword and click on "go" to
get a list of titles available through Amazon.com.